


The Divergent Games

by DauntlessRunner



Series: The Divergent Games [1]
Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth, Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-11 09:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2062866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DauntlessRunner/pseuds/DauntlessRunner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tobias Eaton and his best friend, Caleb Prior, get thrown into the Hunger Games despite Tobias's dad being the leader of Amity. With the help from two girls from their faction, will they make it out alive? Read on if you like cross-overs. Also watch out for some "surprise" love, and don't read if you don't like what you see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Amity, The Happy Butterflies Who Run Around Playing Their Banjos All Day Long

**The Divergent Games**

       The wind breezed softly through the trees next to her house, whistling just a tad as it swept the trees left and right. The sun was up, but hidden behind the clouds that were almost always there. All men were at work in the coal mines, risking their lives to save their families.

       “Tobias, come get your breakfast,” my mother yelled up to me from our tiny kitchen. I scrambled downstairs to find a piece of toast and a fried egg waiting for me on our ancient wooden table.

       “Son, tomorrow is the Reaping. You know what that means, right?” my father, Marcus Eaton, said while munching on his piece of toast.

       “I’m to answer the questions just how you told me and act not courageous, but not weak,” I replied, knowing that my father would be disappointed if I actually answered _honestly_.

       “That’s correct. Amity leaders’ sons don’t normally get picked for the games, but there is a chance,” Marcus added.

       I just nodded and shoved the rest of my food down my mouth, walking upstairs to get my mining gear on as well.

       My family lived in a strange world, with 5 factions known as Abnegation, the selfless, Dauntless, the brave, Candor, the honest, Erudite, the smart, and Amity, the happy butterflies who ran around playing their banjos all day long. There was also the Divergent, who were almost known as factionless because they were hated for being “pure.”

       I worked in Amity, where my family lived. I mined in the coal mines, which was considered the lowest rank of everyone. My job was difficult and risky, but it gave my family sufficient funds and food.

       “Bye mother and father. See ya later,” I yelled as I walked out the door. I didn’t wait to hear their response. I ran to the forests on the outskirts of Amity, which was forbidden. What my family didn’t know is that I worked the second shift, not the first, so I started 4 hours later than they thought. In that time I hunted in the forests to get my family food. I mostly needed to get food for my little sister, Beatrice Eaton, who never got enough food because of Marcus. He thought that little girls weren’t useful until they were 16, when they could be added multiple times to the Reaping for food and water supplies. I snuck food into her room once a week, when she was asleep.

       A voice jolted me from my thought. “Sir, you’re not supposed to be up and about right now,” a man with a deep voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw my best friend, Caleb Prior, laughing at me for falling for his joke.

       “Dude, you thought I was really a soldier. That was great. Let’s hurry up and get in there so we can get food.”

       Caleb and I hunted together during the month before and after the Reaping, when we really needed it. We sold it at the black market, nicknamed the Hub, for some good money, which we saved up in an extra pile hidden beneath a rock in the woods. With that money was two bows, two quivers full of homemade arrows, and 5 squirrel traps. We grabbed them as we leaped over the electric fence (that was never on) and ran deeper into the forest so we wouldn’t be seen.

       “You ready for the Reaping tomorrow? How many times were you put in?” Caleb asked.

       “My name’s in there 14 times. It’s the least I could do for my family. But my dad whipped me after he heard that I was 'too stupid and should've put my name in more'.He thinks that he and his family are invincible because he’s a stupid leader of Amity,” I ranted, getting madder at Marcus every second.

       “Hey man, if it makes you feel better, I was put in 42 times. My brother Tom is ill, and he needs a special medicine that can only be bought with 10 deer or 20 pounds of flour,” Caleb chuckled, gazing sadly back over the fence.

       I could barely handle hearing that. My best friend had almost four times a better chance of being reaped. And you really don’t want to go into the Hunger Games.

       The Hunger Games are when 24 people, two girls and two boys from each faction, are put into an arena where the goal is to kill everyone and be the last one standing. Amity has only had one victor, Eric. But now, he just sits around getting drunk.

       After four weeks of training, there was a test of your skills. Then the strong people from Dauntless could see if you were an enemy, an ally, or, in rare cases, someone to stay away from. They all went for the highest scoring people, so rebelling against the leaders who decided your score was almost unheard of.

       “Tobias, there’s a deer up there. It’s a big one! Take the left side and I’ll take the right. We need this one,” Caleb whispered roughly. I swiftly stalked through the trees and grass, years of practice to make no sound paying off. When I got to the very left of the deer, maybe 5 feet away, I nodded very slowly to Caleb, then raised my bow. We shot the bow in sync and watched silently to see if it moved. The deer looked as if it was going to run, but gave up and lowered itself to the ground to die in peace. We ran over to it, hooting and hollering as quietly as we could.

       “Come on. It’s gonna take us the rest of the time just to carry this thing to the Hub,” I huffed while picking the deer up. It turned out to be a buck.

       It took 30 minutes to drag the male deer to the Hub, and another 10 minutes to negotiate the price. We ended up settling on bowls of lamb stew for both of us and a pound of flour for our families.

       “Tobias, do you think one of us will be chosen in the Reaping? I don’t know if I’d be able to take that,” Caleb asked as we walked to the mines.

       “I think that if we just answer the questions truthfully and know that it’s highly improbable, we won’t get chosen,” I responded, choosing my words carefully.

       The rest of the walk was in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did change some things (ex: the Hob is now the Hub) just to keep it interesting! Thanks for reading, and I'll try to post a new chapter everyday!


	2. The Reaping: Part One

The mining day was tough, with one accident that killed three people. I had to help pull out the bodies. After mining for four hours, I finally walked home in misery.

       “I can’t believe I have to work in this stupid place every day. I applaud you, Tobias Eaton, for not dying and not giving up and not running away,” I mumbled, kicking a rock and then following it.

       Once I got home, my mom was sitting on the couch waiting for me.

       “How was work, honey? I heard about the freak accident,” My mom, Evelyn, asked sweetly.

       “Eh, it was tough,” I replied, already through the door of my sister’s room.

       Beatrice was lying on her bed, looking up at the sky. She looked like she was in a peaceful mood, so I dropped off the last of my stew and went to prepare for the Reaping the next day.

       Once all of my clothes were ready, I went downstairs and made myself supper. I ate it in a record fast time and raced back to my room for some sleep.

The next morning, I nervously ate some toast and put on my good clothes. They were simply slacks, a white T-shirt, and a good coat. I stopped by Beatrice's room and kissed her on the forehead. She woke up and gave me a smile and a thumbs-up. She didn't have to be in the Reaping for one more year, unless I got picked. Then she'd never even be in the Reaping.

       “Bye family. Hope to see you soon,” I said. As I ran out the door, someone came next to me to run with me.

       “Hey Tobias! You ready?” Caleb laughed. We maintained a good pace as we ran to the Plaza, where the Reaping was conducted. As we slowed down, Caleb pulled me in for a surprising hug.

       “Hey man, if we don’t see each other again, just know that I, uh, I’ll miss you,” Caleb murmured, looking a little embarrassed.

       “Keep the mood up, will ya? You’re making me even more nervous,” I chuckled, smiling at him. We walked off to our lines that were organized by last names.

       When I got up to the front of the line after 35 minutes, the lady started asking questions right away.

       “Alright, sir, what’s your full name,” she asked, already scribbling on her list.

       “Tobias Eaton, ma’am,” I answered, with a straight face.

       “And how old are you?”

       “16, ma’am.”

       “What would you do if you were put into the Games, Mr. Eaton,” she questioned, looking up at me for the first time.

       “I would-,”I started, almost answering the way my dad told me. I forced myself to answer the way the real Tobias would, “find weapons immediately and disguise myself in the trees.”

       “And who are your parents, Tobias?”

       “Mr. Marcus and Evelyn Eaton, ma’am.”

       “Oh, ok. Well, you needn’t answer any more questions. Have a nice day and be back at 12 o’clock!” the lady cheerfully said.

       “Um, bye,” I said, confused about what was happening.

       I ran to the forest to wait for Caleb. He showed up in about 10 minutes.

       “Hey, the lady conducting the test barely asked me any questions. How ‘bout you?” I asked Caleb once we sat by the pond.

       “Same here! My guy said I was done within about 5 minutes!” Caleb answered. We went in and waded in the pool to calm us, then came out and had a pep talk.

       “Alright, Tobias. If either one of us gets picked, the other has to get food for the other family for at least a week. No breaking the deal. And if we both get picked-”

       “Hey. We don’t even know if one of us will get picked. There are hundreds of kids in Amity. Stay positive,” I interrupted. Caleb nodded, and we grabbed our bows to go get a quick bite before heading back to the Plaza.

       Once we shared a squirrel (cooked, not raw), we ran to the Plaza. The Reaping questions were just finishing up, so we went to the big stage where the girls and boys were picked.

       “Attention, Reapees! Oh, did you see what I did there? Reapees? Because, oh never mind. Let’s get on with the picking of the names!” Jeanine Matthews, the escort of the Amity tributes, announced.

       “Just in case any of you are foolish enough not to know how this goes about, I’ll be telling you right now! First, I will pick from the ladies’ basket, as ladies _always_ go first. Then I will pick a gentleman, and another lady, and a final gentleman. But, if someone from the same gender would like to volunteer as tribute and take their place, they may do so at the fullest. Normally. Since this is the 10 th year of the Hunger Games, and every 10 years there is a special something added in or taken out, we have taken out substituting completely.”

       There were gasps and shouts of disgust so loud you couldn’t hear Jeanine’s words. Once they finally quieted down, she continued.

       “Now, after being so rudely interrupted, I’ll continue on with the explanation and the reading. Once all the tributes are picked, they will get a special room to themselves to say goodbye to their closest friends and relatives. 15 minutes is all you’ll get, though. You'll get on a train, go to some places, and then have 4 weeks of training and an evaluation. After that, everyone will be put into the Games! Now, is everything clear?” she said, expecting loud cheers and yeses.

       The crowd was silent.

       “Ok. Well then, quite a happy Amity crowd today, right? And the first tribute from the girls is… Molly Atwood!”

       Some of the girls started crying as the brave girl strode up to her position on the platform. I could tell she was fighting back tears.

       “Sad, sad. Now for the boys! And we have… Caleb Prior!”

       The world froze for me as he stood up straight and walked up to the steps.


	3. The Reaping: Part Two

The shout left my mouth before I even realized it had. Everyone looked at me, but I didn’t care. I just stared at Caleb.

       Caleb turned towards me and nodded, a simple movement that meant that no matter what, he would try his hardest to win and I would feed his family for as long as I could.

       “Ok, Caleb and Molly, you two sit down over here in these gender-coordinated seats! And now for the two other boys and girls. For the girl is Miss… Christina!”

       After a couple of soft whimpers, Christina walked up onto the platform. I recognized her from school. She was a Candor girl who transferred here after her freshman year of high school. She was kind of pretty, with a wide smile, though it wasn't showing now.

       “So Molly and Christina are our final girls! Let’s see who’ll be joining Caleb,” Jeanine yipped, smiling wider than I thought was possible. I wanted to volunteer for Caleb more than ever.

       “And our last boy is… Tobias Eaton! The son of one of our council members, Marcus Eaton!”

       Caleb gasped up on the platform, but I made myself put on my most confident face and took long strides up onto the stage. My heart was thumping, my mind telling me that I was dreaming. I pinched myself slightly just to make sure I was awake. I was, unfortunately. As soon as I was on the stage Caleb walked over to me and stood next to me. He kept his head down, but I nodded at him and patted his back.

       “Cute, kids. It looks like we have an older bunch of boys this year! Tell me, Tobias, how old are you and your friend?” Jeanine laughed.

       “We’re 18. And, just in case you were wondering, we’re _men_ , not kids. In Amity terms we’re adults,” I said as sternly as possible.

       “Oh, well, I guess Amity woke up on the wrong side of the bed, am I right? Huh? Because you all are so… not happy… oh I need to stop. Girls, how old are you?”

       Christina whispered in the other girl’s ear to ask how old she was.

       “I’m 15 and Molly is 13, ma’am. And, just in case you were wondering, we’re still girls,” Christina said, smirking in my direction and winking when she added the last part.

       “My, my, ok. Let’s get you guys to the goodbye rooms!” Jeanine smiled, waving to the crowd while strutting off the platform.

       “Ugh, someone get me something to drink. I hate this,” she shouted to the men who spun the choosing wheel backstage.

       When we were out of the vision of the relieved crowd, I spun around and pulled Caleb into a hug.

       “Caleb, what’s going to happen to our families?” I cried out.

       “They’ll be fine. They’ll get the tribute food and money. Just quiet down, Tobias. It’ll be ok,” Caleb cooed, trying to make me quit my un-manly crying.

       When the guards got to the platform, they put us in a straight line and walked us to the rooms. All the families were waiting there, crying, hugging, and mostly just looking sad.

       Caleb and I choose to stay in the same room and have both our families come in. My mom walked over to me first and kissed me on the forehead, then did the same thing to Caleb.

       “Tobias, I just wanted you to know that I love you. No matter what happens with you, and no matter what happens with me, I love you,” she whispered. I was puzzled, but I didn’t care because I probably wouldn’t see her again.

       “Tobias, son, I’ll be talking to the council about this, I promise, but make sure you make Amity and your mother and I proud. I love you, kid. Oh, excuse me, _man_ ,” Marcus chuckled, a sole tear dripping down his cheek. The last to see me was Beatrice. Before I could say anything, she jumped into my arms and buried her head into my shoulders.

       “It’s okay Beatrice, it’s okay. Do you think you get the family sufficient food by taking up the hunting?” Next to me I heard Caleb saying the same thing to his little brother Tom, who was on crutches and crying like he’d been shot.

       “Yes, Tobias. Of course. I’ve watched you hunt secretly since you started. I know how to do it and I know where the best places are,” Beatrice whispered. That startled me. Knowing that she watched me just made me wonder who else did.

       I kissed all of my family members one more time, and then hugged Caleb’s. We sat in silence for maybe a minute. When the guards came, Caleb and I exited out the back door, and into the train.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More soon :D This is really fun for me, so please leave comments about how I'm doing and what I should change and plot suggestions and WHATEVER. Share this if you like it, and subscribe to it and give it a hit!  
> Thanks!


	4. Hide and Seek

The train was long, with rooms bigger than my whole house. The kitchen was especially big, with an oven, microwave, stove, and other appliances I had never even heard of.

       “Alright, tributes, here’s how it’s gonna work out. Listen carefully, ‘cause my afternoon drink is coming out soon,” Eric, the only surviving tribute from Amity, said.

       “Excuse me, but shouldn’t you be more focused on getting us to not die then drinking?” Christina asked sternly.

       “Shut up. So, I’m going to start your first test now. We’re gonna play a little game of Hide and Seek. Everyone hide wherever you want in the train, as long as it’s permitted to be there and you don’t lock the doors, and the last person I find gets an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert. The other three get to do 50 push-ups. You have 30 seconds. On your mark, get-,”

       “Wait! Can we hide disguise ourselves?” Caleb yelled. He’d worked at a plant shop before transferring to the mines, so he had experience with plants and camouflage.

       “Whatever. No more interruptions. On your mark, get set, HIDE!” Eric screamed, laughing as he did so.

       Caleb and I, out of habit, starting running together to the back of the train. As we ran, I stopped him.

       “Wait. Let’s go onto the roof of the train. You know, with the balcony? I think I know where to go,” I panted.

       We jogged to the stairway, which was carpeted, and ran up just a few steps.

       “Oh, I see! There’s this overhang that we can hide on!” Caleb laughed. He jumped on the shallow ledge just as Eric yelled, “30!”

       Just as I was about to make my leap, my foot slipped out from under me and I started to fall. Without any hesitation, Caleb scrambled to the edge and caught my arm, without making any noise. I made it up the ledge and thanked him silently.

       “Ah, darn it!” Molly yelled, coming out from underneath the bed in the room next to us. Eric stood smirking as she got down on the floor to start her 50 push-ups.

       “I was expecting you to make it the longest since you’re the youngest, but I guess I just have good eyes,” Eric chuckled. He walked the other direction just as Caleb peeked his head out from our cover.

       “Hey man, one of us has to be found first, so you stay here while I climb up the stairs to the roof. Don’t worry; he’s in the kitchen now. I’ll lay flat and try not to die,” Caleb whispered. I tried to object, but he jumped out and landed like he weighed ten pounds. He agilely sprinted up the stairs and disappeared into the sunlight.

       “Come out, come out, wherever you are! People have hidden pretty long, but I doubt any of you will beat the record of 36 minutes! Besides, knowing most of you from our snack we just had, you’ll all be starving before then anyway!” Eric laughed, holding a beer in his hand now.

       Christina was seen next, when she looked out at him from the engine room.

       “I knew the bathroom would’ve been a better spot!” she cursed under her breath. I slowed down my breath every time he passed by me, cooing me to come out and just do the 50 push-ups. When he finally started going up the stairs to the roof, I willed myself to sit completely still and not breathe. He made it up the steps, and I waited a couple of moments to breathe lightly.

       “Ha! I knew I’d find you sometime!” Eric yelled. Caleb grunted, then walked down the stairs without even looking at me. Once again, Caleb had saved me by getting caught and still not giving me away.

       I sat still for a long time, and when I finally lost track of time, I climbed down.

       “I’m done. I’m done. I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m thirsty, and I wanna go to bed. It was a fun game. Now where’s my ice cream!” I grumbled, grumpy that I had really wasted hours of my life over a stupid game of Hide and Seek.

       “Well, well, well, here’s our little record holder! You can have some ice cream. In fact, for breaking the record set by a dead person, you can even have two scoops.”

       I grabbed two bowls of ice cream from the cupboard and split it into fourths to share with everyone.

       “Thanks, Tobias! You know, you were in there for 4 hours, 4 minutes and 4 seconds! That’s insane!” Molly squeaked.

       Four hours? I thought. That was crazy. I just wasted 4 hours and 4 minutes of my life over ice cream.

       “Hey, maybe we should call you _Four_ ,” Christina laughed. I punched her in the arm, but instantly regretted it.

       “You know what, I like that. Nobody else that was reaped has ever made it that long. Four. It’s certainly better than Tobias,” I said.

       “Four, I think this is a great start. Maybe we’ll have another tribute that actually lives!” Eric giggled, still in a drunken stupor.

       The fact that I would likely not live made me even grumpier.

      

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now realize that I accidentally made this Chapter Four. Whoops. Guess it makes it all the better. If only I had published it on August 4th :D Thanks for almost 50 hits! Keep reading to see what happens to the four tributes!


	5. Don't Let the Hunger Bugs Bite!

That night, as Eric rambled on to us about when he was in the Hunger Games, and about how he _almost_ died and he _almost_ fell out of a tree, Caleb nudged me and whispered, “I’m tired. Time to go to bed.”

       “Sorry Eric, we love hearing your interesting stories, but Caleb and I need to rest up a bit before tomorrow’s training,” I yawned. The yawn was supposed to be fake, but it came out real.

       “Whatever. Sleep tight, boys, and don’t let the Hunger bugs bite!” Eric laughed as he took another swig.

       Caleb and I got up and started walking to the back of the train, now used to the slight bumps of the train. When we reached our rooms that were right next to each other, we nodded and walked in silently.

       My bedroom was a weird range of colors. My bed was blue, with little dots of white in them. The walls were all white, which made me feel as if I was in a hospital. The ceiling, though, was painted very nicely, with a sky design on it. It looked freshly painted, but not still wet. The strangest thing was the desk. It was painted with a million different greens, browns, and blacks. All the colors swirled together made me think of a forest.

       With my head thumping from all the stress I’d endured, I tucked myself in and turned the lights off.

The next morning, my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. Right after, I heard Eric’s powerful voice yell, “Get up, brats! This is the time I’m the most sober, so let’s get some training in before we get to the next faction tomorrow!”

       _Tomorrow?_ I thought. It seemed like such a short train ride. But then again, we still had a week until we got to the Capital.

       Caleb grunted at my door, so I opened it up and let him in.

       “How’d you sleep?” I asked, trying to keep my eyes from closing.

       “Terribly. I had a dream that it was you and I left in the Hunger Games, and suddenly-,”

       “Don’t tell me. Just don’t. And don’t worry, I woke up at least ten times with the words ‘Caleb’ caught in my throat,” I admitted. Without another word we walked out of my room and into the kitchen, which was filled with pancakes, waffles, fruit, hash browns, and every other breakfast food ever. Caleb and I gaped at it as Eric gave us instructions.

       “Alright, twerps. You have 30 minutes to eat as much as you want. After that, go shower and freshen yourself up. Every one of you smells like you live in dirt,” Eric chuckled.

       “Maybe because we do live in dirt,” Caleb whispered in my ear.

       “After a quick meeting with Jeanine, you’ll all come to me for some training. No telling what that training is, but I’m sure you’ll love it. Training will be one hour long, with a 10-minute assessment after so I can see what I have to work with. Just remember, I have trained almost 50 kids, all who died. I won the first Hunger Games,” he said, now with a straight face. With a flick of his hand, we walked to the enormous buffet left for us.

       “Is this how Divergent people live? It sucks, knowing that some people are pure and you aren’t,” Christina scoffed. I just nodded and got to filling my plate to the brim.

       I started with some scrambled eggs and real turkey bacon, and then ate some Candor waffles topped with 100% manufactured Erudite syrup that tasted like heaven itself. My dessert, you could say, was frozen berries covered in yogurt and sugar.

       “Are they trying to make us fat?” Molly giggled in between bites of her hash browns.

       “It sure seems like it. Maybe they just want us to have some good meals before we get slaughtered,” I said, knowing that us scrawny kids would never live.

       “You don’t know that, Four. I keep wondering how that girl last year won at age 14. Anything can happen,” Caleb added.

       “Yeah, yeah. I’ll go take my shower while you finish up,” I pushed myself away from the table and half-jogged to the bathroom. The showers were gigantic, but what I was looking for was the bath. It was maybe 3 feet deep, and 10 feet wide. It was like a Jacuzzi.

       “I could get used to this, definitely,” I laughed as I lowered myself into the hot water. I burned my skin, but it felt good. I rinsed out the water when it got dirty from not taking a shower in the past two days. The soap was unique, with little curves around it. Each side of the soap was for a different part of your body. The top for your legs, the left side for your arms, the bottom for your stomach, and so on. It felt slimy on my body, but it cleaned me off. As for my hair, I used the Erudite shampoo and conditioner left on the side of the tub for me. It rid my hair of the disgusting dirt and dried skin and made it feel somewhat luscious.

       Sometime, I got out of the bath and grabbed the wooly towel. I quickly got dressed and came out so Caleb could take a shower. When I stepped into the kitchen, it was transformed into a training arena.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments about how I'm doing! Some surprises are coming soon, so subscribe and share it with your friends! Thanks for 5 kudos and almost 80 hits! I thought this was gonna just be a little hobby, but it's turned into actually almost writing a book. Thanks again!


	6. Eat My Dust, Four!

“Oh my God. What in the Capitol’s name is that?” I yelled.

       All around me was equipment. There were cones, some knives, even a bow and arrow with targets.

       “It’s called training. We’ll do this every day for the next week while we’re touring the Districts. I hope you’re in shape,” Eric chuckled.

       Christina and Molly walked out giggling, but stopped short when they saw the ‘arena’. They just looked at each other and walked up to Eric.

       “So is this what our training is? I hope these cones aren’t too heavy,” Molly giggled.

       “Yes. We’ll start with 50 push-ups for the girls. Once Caleb comes out, the boys can start on their push-ups,” Eric said. He turned around and walked to the kitchen, where he could eat and watch them.

       Caleb came out within a couple of minutes, and they started the push-ups.

       “You know, this isn’t half bad,” Caleb huffed between push-ups. I just grunted and kept going.

       After the push-ups, everyone took turns doing what Eric called ‘Suicides’.

       “It’s where you run to this cone and then run back. Then you run to the second cone and back. You do that until you make it to the end of the train. Have fun!” Eric grunted. He went to the end of the train to make sure everyone did the right amount of running.

       I really wasn’t a runner. I could shoot a bow and arrow, fight with a sword like nobody’s business, and even swim really well. But I could not run for my life.

       “On your mark, get set, go,” Eric said lazily. I immediately sprinted to the first cone and back. “Steady, Four! Don’t go overboard and waste your energy at the start.”

       I slowed down a little after that, but maintained a good lead.

       “Eat my dust, Four!” Christina laughed as she ran past me.

       I sped up a little, but ultimately gave up trying to beat her. As my heart pounded, my vision started to blur. I heard voices around me, but didn’t know what was happening.

       “Caleb!” I screamed. My vision went almost black, but I pushed forward. Caleb appeared at my side, but I only knew that because I heard his breath in my ear. Since I couldn’t hear what he was saying, I just nodded and pointed to my eyes. He understood immediately and put his arm around me to help guide me.

       “Oh my God, Four are you ok!” I heard Molly cry. I must’ve looked like death itself.

       My head pounded and my body ached. I knew I was going to pass out within seconds, so I let go of Caleb and sprinted forward, trusting my instincts to guide me to the finish.

       As I felt my foot slam down on the finishing pedal, everything collapsed.

“Four, Four. Dude, wake up. Dude, please,” Caleb whimpered. My vision slowly cleared up, and I could see Caleb sitting above me.

       “Oh my God, never scare me like that again!” Caleb cried out. He pulled me into a hug and nearly made me pass out again. I grunted to tell him that.

       “How long have I been out?” I asked weakly.

       “Two days. You were out for _two_ days. That’s insane, bro.” Caleb chuckled nervously. I held out my hand for him to grab it and help me sit up.

       His hands were soft and warm, and in the spur of the moment, I brought up my other hand and touched his face, slowly dragging it along the side of my hand. It was smooth, unlike what he was like in the mines.

       “I-I’m sorry. Just a little woozy still,” I blushed.

       Caleb nodded, and then helped me stand up. I stood next to him for a second, making sure I could stand without falling. He put his arm around me to help me walk out to the kitchen.

       “Four!” Christina yelled, running over to me and hugging me. Molly did the same, and then came Eric (he didn’t hug me though).

       “I hope you realize the lesson that comes from this. You need to not work yourself harder than possible. By the time you started getting weak, you were almost three cones ahead of Christina,” Eric nodded sternly.

       Three cones ahead? I thought. It seemed like three cones _behind_!

       “But then again, to have the discipline to keep going could _literally_ be life or death. Well done. Eat some breakfast so you can get back to training.

       “Training? Already? I just got out of a freakin’ coma!” I laughed, punching Caleb softly on the arm.

       “Technically, you weren’t in a coma. You were just unconscious,” Caleb joked.

       His face was so adorable when he laughed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that 1. If you look up "Divergent" on the search bar, The Divergent Games comes up SECOND! Thanks so much! and 2. I have 100 hits on this story. It's been so much fun writing it and I'm not even close to done!


	7. Scrubbed

I lost track of time, but in less than two days after the ‘Suicides incident’, we were at the Capitol. It was large, with several buildings reaching up at least 1000 feet. The technology Erudite created made it possible to make them that tall.

       “Alright, guys, we have two days to get you ready for the chariot rides into the training arena. The girls will have a house and the boys have one. There, some personal assistants and artists will create you into something magical. The girls’ theme is…butterflies. The boys’, coal,” Eric rattled off.

       _Oh my god, here come the happy butterflies again_ , I thought. At least we were something slightly masculine, and to us, intimidating.

       “So, training starts almost the second you get in. You’re just going to go to your specified rooms and change into your specified clothes that were specified by President Joe,” Eric said. President Joe was probably the worst president ever. But if the Capitol kept voting for him, he stayed in.

       We all nodded and got into the car that would take us from the train to the houses. Since we couldn’t pack, we had nothing to unpack.

       “Four, what do you think will happen to us? I’m really scared,” Molly whimpered. She had tears streaking down her face.

       “Molly, I promise right here that no matter what it takes, I will get you back home,” I whispered, for fear that the driver might hear me, “If I have to die, so be it.”

       I kissed her on the head, and then let my own head fall against the headrest to try and go to sleep.

I woke up right before the car came to a screeching stop in front of two town homes.

       “Alright, this is where you get off. Good luck in the Games, friends,” the driver winked, a tear dripping down his cheek.

       “The fact that a random person we just met is crying for us is starting to get on me,” Caleb whispered as we said goodbye to the girls.

       “Four, I want you to know that I want you to sacrifice me if you must. I have no family to go home to. They were killed when the factionless went extinct,” Christina confessed.

       “Christina, that means I have to protect you even more. For them, I mean,” I put my hands through her hair.

       “Bye Four. Have fun with Caleb,” she added as she walked away from the car.

       Caleb and I walked up to the front door, using the secret code we had been told to get in.

       The inside seemed ten times bigger than the outside. There were two rooms on one side, and two major bathrooms on the other. Even though the house was only one story, it seemed like three with the high ceilings.

       “Hello, tributes of the 10th Hunger Games! My name is Amar, and I’ll be your makeup artist and designer! I can’t wait to get to know you, but we only have 2 days until you’re in the chariot ride, so we need to get started. My assistants, George and his sister Tori, will be getting your clothes ready as I scrub you two down. Who wants to go first?” Amar talked excitedly.

       Caleb looked at me and said, “I’ll go first, dear Amar.”

       As Caleb was swept away to be ‘scrubbed’, I took the time to check out the rooms. They weren’t as big as I thought they’d be, but they were bigger than the rooms back home. They had a bed, a desk, a lamp, a ceiling fan, and a drawer filled with clothes.

       “That’s odd,” I said to myself, “There’s paper in this desk.”

       When I opened up the papers in my room, they simply said:

**When the clock strikes eight**

**Try not to be bait**

**And when the clock strikes two**

**Let the weather come to you**

**Victory you’ll know**

**And maybe even snow**

**But if there is a herd**

**Make it feel your word**

       “Hi, Tobias! My name’s George. Oh, you saw those papers? They contain hints for the Games! Quite helpful, really,” the man named George chuckled as he stood in the doorway. He was muscular, with a firm jaw, but he looked slightly weakened, like seeing all his clients die made him weary.

       “Nice to meet you, George. So will you be ‘scrubbing’ me, then?” I asked, trying not to sound rude.

       “Yes, sir! Let’s get into the bathroom right now. During the shower, you won’t feel very good, but once you’re done, you’ll feel almost brand new!” George laughed as he scurried me away.

       Great. More pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! More chapters after a break! The next chapter will have some romance, but not bad romance. So yeah I'll probably post it tomorrow! Thanks for all the support!


	8. Confessions, Confessions

The shower was more painful than anything else in my life. Maybe. First, it was just a little warm. George said that was so all the dirt I had taken with me would be cleaned off. Then it got hot. It was hot and hit me like hail, which I had only felt once because I was so scared of those ice pellets.

       “It only feels like that because it’s shaping your tissue. Don’t worry, this section only lasts 30 seconds. The next section, that’s a little more, my dear Tobias,” George laughed. All the people in the Capitol laughed a lot.

       He was right about the second section. It consisted of dunking me into a bath that opened up from the floor of the shower. Let’s just say I wasn’t expecting that. At first it was nice because it felt like a hot tub with all of those jets. But then the jets grew mechanic arms or something and started scrubbing me with a million different substances. Three of the ‘scrubbers’ came at me with hair conditioner and shampoo and who knows what else. The other seven awkwardly scrubbed my body with sponges that felt almost spiky. The worst was the last one. All ten of the arms went back inside their sockets, and then from the showerhead came a huge one.

       “George, what kind of relaxing and cleansing bath is this?” I yelled. The hand (this time it actually looked like a hand) clenched and unclenched, then grabbed a liquid from the side of the bath and poured the whole bottle over my head.

       “Don’t worry, it’s just a specialized formula that multiplies the skin cells in your body so you look stronger. We only use it on the guys!” George laughed over my screaming. The thing made me feel like I was dying. Finally, when it stopped, I grabbed my towel and stormed out of the bathroom.

       “I thought the pain was supposed to wait until I actually entered the Games!” I yelled, tears dripping down my face. George looked hurt, so I got dressed and went back and apologized. He just shrugged it off and pretended like it happened all the time.

       “Eh, don’t worry. I know it hurts, but President Joe makes us do it so you look pretty when you go in the Chariots,” George laughed.

       When I got back to my room, Caleb was sitting on my bed staring at the floor. He looked up when I walked in.

       “Four, I have something to tell you, and I feel like it’s a good time to because we may not have much time left,” Caleb started.

       _Oh great,_ I thought. _Not this sacrificing thing again._

       “Alright. I’m all for it,” I chuckled, trying to keep the mood light.

       “Tobias, I like you,” Caleb said, hanging his head.

       “Well yeah, we’ve been friends for a while,” I said back. I knew that if he used my real name, it was important.

       “No, Tobias. Not like that. The way that you always stick up for everyone, that you always do everything for others. And I have something else to say. If we hadn’t been reaped, I never would’ve gotten to tell you this. So maybe it’s for the better that we work together to make it through this,” Caleb finished, now looking at me. I was speechless. He just summed up what I was going to tell him without even knowing it.

       “Caleb, I like you too. In fact, I have for a while. And when you laugh, your face turns this bright pink, and I can’t stop myself from thinking about you. You’re amazing, and if we would’ve made it to the Choosing Ceremony when we turned 20, I would’ve gone to Abnegation with you, just like you’ve always wanted,” I rambled. He nodded, and got up to leave.

       “Wait!” I yelled. He stopped. “I just, want you to stay here with me for a while. We only have 30 minutes until we have to get into our coal costumes.”

       He laid down next to me, and we sat there for the full 30 minutes, talking about all of our experiences in Amity. We laughed and we cried, a little bit, but we mostly made it the best 30 minutes we could. At the end of the 30 minutes, we sat up and I ruffled his hair.

       “You also have the best eyes out of everyone in the entire world,” I laughed. We stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, and then he got up to go to his wardrobe.

       “I guess we better get changed. See ya later, old pal,” Caleb chuckled. I smiled at him, and once he was out, I laid back down on my bed. It still smelled like Caleb, in a weird way.

       “Sorry, but I must wake you from your slumber. It’s time to get changed,” a small girl said. _So that’s Tori?_ I thought. She seemed young.

       “Alright, thanks. How old are you, by the way?” I asked, curious to know.

       “I’m 16, Mr. Eaton. I’m just small,” Tori added. She whisked me away to her older brother, who measured me for my costume.

       “So we were thinking about having you wear a sort of fiery display. So you’re going to have a hat that sort of lights on fire. But your costume is just going to be a wonderful mirage of blacks and browns,” George explained.

       When he was done getting me clothed, which was pretty awkward, I got to look at myself in the mirror. I had makeup on that made me look like I just finished a shift at the mines. My costume was pretty normal, with scraps torn off here and there to resemble me maybe being in an explosion or something. But the hat was the coolest thing. When I pressed a button that was hidden in my shirt, it burst into flames. With another push of that button, it smoldered into nothing. It truly was a work of Erudite.

       “Four, I want to give you the best of luck. You and your friends are a very funny and energetic bunch, and I hope one of you wins this year,” George said with a smile. He helped me out to a car where I would be taken to the chariots. I got into the car where Caleb was already sitting. He looked gorgeous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. 150 hits. But can we make that number go up to 200!? I bet we can. Anyway, this story is really fun and I'm hoping to make 500 hits by the time it's over. It's gonna end up being maybe 30 chapters, but sometimes that's what makes it interesting, you know what I'm saying? Thanks again, and keep reading!


	9. Chariot 11

“H-Hey, Four. How’s it going?” Caleb asked nervously. He twiddled his thumbs as we took off. The car had tinted windows that, I’m guessing, were also bulletproof. Sitting up straight, I talked back to Caleb.      

       “You know what, Caleb? It’s going great. I thought this whole trip would be filled with mean people hitting me and giving me dirty looks. But even the few people that have helped us have been nice and forgiving. I can tell George and Amar didn’t want to see us leave,” I said. Caleb eyes closed for a moment, and his reflection on the car window showed that he was reaching into his pocket.

       “Your sister told me to give you this. I-I didn’t know when would be the right time, but I think it’s now,” he stuttered. Into my hand came a small figurine. It was my sister’s favorite toy, a statue of her and me that was crafted by her when she was 5.

       I took a deep breath, struggling to hold back the tears. Sensing my displeasure, the driver rolled up a screen that closed him off from the two of us. Letting it go, I sobbed into Caleb’s shoulder. He hugged me and didn’t let me go until we got to the chariots. Soft and warm, his arms felt like the sun itself was cheering me up, telling me that there was no chance of rain.

       “Come on, Tobias. It’s all right. Let’s get going,” Caleb cooed. We hopped out of the black car and approached a large gateway. Covered in decorations, 12 chariots were lined up behind the gate.

       “Alright, young men, you will be in chariot 11. The girls Christina and Molly will be behind you. It’s been nice meeting you,” the driver nodded. We thanked him, then set off to the chariot.

       “Oh my gosh, don’t you love the hairpieces! It just seems so, I don’t know, Amity!” Christina giggled. Molly laughed, and then saw Caleb and I walking towards her.

       “Caleb! Four! I missed you guys,” Molly ran over and hugged us both. I could feel her shakiness and tried to calm her down.

       “I missed you, too. What do you think we’re going to have to do? Wave at the audience and entertain them?” I joked. Molly laughed nervously, and then pushed some hair out of her face. She really was a pretty girl, even though she was still young. Christina followed suit and hugged us.

       “Wow you two look… hot, I guess. Was that too punny?” she asked. We chuckled, then headed off to our chariot.

       “Children, oh excuse me, _men and women_ , please stand next to your chariots! Volunteers will come by and put you in your places!” President Joe’s representative yelled. President Joe almost never came out himself. Selfish and cruel, he would rather have someone else do his work for him.

       A young girl came by and told us where to stand. We leaned right up against the front railing, towering over some of the other chariots. Dauntless was simple as always. The front of the chariot had swords crossed over each other, the sign of bravery. They had low rolling chariots that made them look even taller than they already were. The other factions were pretty normal, other than Divergent. The Divergent always went overboard with their chariots, decorating them with every factions sign and every different possibility of combinations.

       “Divergent didn’t back down at all this year. The pure and all-talented kids think that they’re good at everything possible,” Caleb whispered.

       “Yeah,” I said back. The front chariot of Dauntless started to roll down the pavement.

       “Four?” Caleb whispered again.

       “Yeah?”

       “I wouldn’t rather be with anyone else right now.”

       I sat stunned in my place as the chariot began to weave its way into the track. Straightening up, I slapped a smile on my face and pressed the button in my shirt. My hat enflamed my head without touching my skin. When I saw the pictures afterward, it looked like I literally had hair made of fire. I glanced over at Caleb and saw his hat doing the same thing. We laughed together and stared out at the crowd. Without realizing it, we grabbed each other’s hand. I smiled wider and raised my other hand to wave out at everyone. The audience cheered and clapped as Amity made its laps around the arena. I felt the fire begin to burn out, so I clicked the button one more time and turned the fire off. We made it back inside the opposite gate and that was that.

       “Well, nice seeing the amazing Amity in action. I’m Max, from Dauntless. I think you two would be great allies,” a young boy said eagerly.

       “Hi there. So you’re from Dauntless? Why do you have interest in Amity?” I asked.

       “Well, my mom was in Amity. She told me that Amity was the coolest place ever. She got killed by Dauntless, though, but I had already made the switch. My dad switched to Amity with grief because of my mother. Her name was Evelyn Eaton,” Max said sadly.

       The world began to spin, and I felt Caleb’s arms wrap around me as everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa. Hold up. Have I really not posted for almost a month!? With school and other stuff, I haven't been able to update anything. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please leave a kudos!


	10. Good Night, Sweet Tributes!

“Man, you gotta stop doing that,” Caleb chuckled when I came to. I was in the same spot, just a minute later. At least, that’s what Caleb told me.

       “Thanks, dude. So Max, your mom’s name is Evelyn? Evelyn Eaton?” I asked, stunned from the sudden surprise. Max nodded.

       “Did you know her?”

       “She’s my mother. I left her behind in Amity, but of course she’s still alive,” I explained. This time, Max stared at me, dumbfounded. I started from the beginning, about how I was born and about my sister and about pretty much everything. Max just nodded the whole time, asking an occasional question. When I was finished, it was time to go to our rooms.

       “Max, will you be our ally?” Caleb asked. Max agreed eagerly, saying that he’d do anything for his long lost brother. I hugged him goodbye and left to go upstairs with Caleb.

       The elevator was quick and brought us to our floor, 10, in just a few seconds. We had the whole floor to ourselves and our crew, which included George and Amar, Jeanine, and Eric. With a beer in his hand, Eric showed us around and told us what our schedule would be.

       “Right here is where you’ll sleep. Four’s room is on the left, Caleb on the right. You share a bathroom and each have a balcony. The kitchen is in the kitchen,” Eric slurred.

       “Tomorrow, I am to escort you to the training arena, where you’ll get to know your tributes, train, and watch videos from old Games. Once all the training’s done, you get tested. Good night, sweet tributes!” Eric finished, waddling off to his bedroom down the corridor.

       “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him sober,” Caleb laughed. I punched him softly on the shoulder, mimicking him. Suddenly, he pulled me into his room, closing the door immediately.

       “Hey man, I just wanted to say that I’m going to save you. No matter what it takes, we’re going to be the last two and I’m going to save you,” Caleb said sternly. My eyes widened and I realized what that would mean.

       “I can’t leave you to die! I-I love you, Caleb,” I cried, covering my mouth too late. A smirk grew bigger and bigger on his face, and before I knew what was happening, I was in his arms. We didn’t kiss, definitely not, but my lips hungered for it. Neither of us knew we loved each other until that moment, when my loud mouth spoke before thinking.

       “Good night, Tobias.”

       “Good night.”

       The amazing evening had ended, and we needed rest before we set out training. Although I secretly wished it had never ended.

       When our alarms rang out, Caleb and I did rock-paper-scissors to see who took a shower first. Of course, I won. These showers weren’t nearly as intense as the chariot ride ones, though they still pounded my skin. I turned the shower to hot, savoring the comfortable time. When my five minutes were up, I zipped up my training jumpsuit and leapt out of the shower.

       “Someone looks handsome!” Caleb smirked, still sporting his pajamas and ruffled hair. I smiled back, my heart pounding out of my chest. I pulled on my boots and sat on my bed, waiting for Caleb. Within less than two minutes, he was out and well-groomed. I started up small talk about non-Hunger Games related things and took his hand in mine, walking down the endless corridor to the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay... I'm literally the busiest person on Earth right now. Next chapter will have more romance, smut not included (sorry not sorry). I hope you like this, and leave a kudos! By the way, we're almost at 400 hits! Let's get it there and above!
> 
> Sorry for the short chapter, but I'll have an extra long one next time!


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